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Re-Animator
1985 86 min United States of America 18+
★7.3
Science Fiction, Comedy, Horror
Director: Stuart Gordon
🎭 Based on
«Herbert West—Reanimator»
byH. P. Lovecraft
Trailers
EN
Teaser
EN
Description
Conducting clandestine experiments within the morgue at Miskatonic University, scientist Herbert West reveals to a fellow graduate student his groundbreaking work concerning the re-animation of fresh corpses.
Budget:
$900,000
US Gross:
$2.02M
Worldwide:
$2.03M
Starring
Jeffrey Combs
Actor
Bruce Abbott
Actor
Barbara Crampton
Actor
Awards
Saturn Awards 1986
— Best Horror Film
Saturn Awards 2018
— Best Special Blu-ray/DVD Edition
Saturn Awards 1986
— Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Key opinion
Re-Animator is widely hailed as a landmark of 80s cult horror, celebrated for its bold direction and creative blending of dark comedy with visceral practical effects. While some viewers find its departures from Lovecraft's source material or its trash-horror aesthetic polarizing, the general consensus praises the film's manic energy and tight, effective construction.
| Acting | Jeffrey Combs delivers a definitive, electrifying performance as the obsessive Herbert West. | |
| Production | The practical effects, including prosthetics and gore, remain remarkably vivid and impactful compared to modern CGI. | |
| Emotion | The film successfully balances tension and dark, irreverent humor, creating a unique horror-comedy identity. | |
| Score | Richard Band’s score is highly memorable and effectively complements the film's shifting tone. | |
| Pacing | The film’s pacing is viewed by most as brisk and tightly crafted, though a minority of viewers find the narrative sluggish or repetitive in certain segments. | |
| Adaptation | Opinions on the adaptation fidelity are divided: some appreciate Gordon’s bold creative reinterpretation of Lovecraft, while purists criticize it for straying too far from the original source material's tone and plot. |